Monday, November 28, 2005

By now, it has become all too apparent that George W. Bush's Food and Drug Administration likes to play politics with women's reproductive health. It wasn't exactly surprising when a report recently revealed the agency's "unusual" maneuvering over the morning-after pill, or Plan B—a booster dose of the ordinary birth control pill that has been approved for over-the-counter sales by an FDA advisory panel and the staff itself, but has remained in limbo since April 2003.

On November 14, the Government Accountability Office— the investigative arm of Congress—issued findings from a 16-month investigation into why, in May 2004, the FDA first refused to make Plan B available without a prescription. Barr Laboratories, which manufactures the drug, has revised its original application and is now requesting approval for over-the-counter sales for women older than 16.

As I’ve said many times before, these people in power today are NOT Republicans. Republicans are hands off and small government. The current administration has created the largest and most expensive government ever seen in this country.

No, this country is not run by Republicans, this country is being run by religious fundamentalist who care little about ‘All men are created equal’, and more about ‘Thou shall do as we say and don't ask questions’.

This move by the FDA to delay (and hopefully kill) the morning after pill is a perfect example of this. In an agency that is supposed to be more concerned with science and the health of the population, government officials stepped in and rejected the approval of this drug for purely political and theocratic reasons.

Funny how we fight against this type of government controlled restrictions in every part of the world, but for some reason people tolerates it here in the US.

For all you guys out there opposed to this, let me ask you some questions. Why exactly are you so afraid of this pill? Do you think your GF/Wives will just go out randomly having sex with people? Do you think you won’t be able to keep your woman barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen anymore? Do you think this will somehow effect your manhood if women are able to choose who and when they want to have kids?

By putting the plan B pill on the shelves, women will not all just automatically have unprotected sex with every guy they see. This is real life people, not a porno.

Don’t even start with the moral justifications. Your president that you all look so highly on seems to think pre-emptive strike is a good thing. Well, that’s just what this is.

Even more upsetting is that there are not more women speaking up against this. I know what some of you are thinking, and here’s my response. Just because it’s available doesn’t mean you have to use it. The fact is that by having a choice you are empowering yourself and your gender to more decisions in life.

The obligation to raise and care for a child is a big one. Not everyone can do it. Not everyone should do it. Go to your local Wally world (and other places) and you’ll see what I mean.

This reminds me of a statistic from the 04’ elections. The population least likely to vote for Bush was educated urban women. The population most likely to vote for Bush was uneducated rural women. Don't let the uneducated determine what will happen for all of you.